Welcome to AR's first ever coverage of the Electronic Entertainment Expo! As the center of the gaming world, thousands (if not millions) of people gather every year for the largest video game themed expo in history. And while the expo has changed in past years, this year E3 is going to be bigger than ever.. with an even larger amount of developers ready to stun players with their software, and hardware.

From Nintendo's 3DS, Microsoft's Natal, to PlayStation Move.. this is going to be a great summer for gamers.

Stay tuned to this thread, and our social feeds. Once the expo starts, we will be posting videos, news articles, and all sorts of media on the latest announcements from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the rest of the developers. You can also chat about what you want to see at E3, and vote in our polls.

I had forgotten about Gray Matter (hangs head in shame) - I'm very much looking forward to that.
And also Monkey Island 2 Special Edition.

Much as I love Lord Of The Rings, I find the games (with exception of the first one) very disappointing. They are just boring strategy games, or all out war games. Why not adventure games, like the first one (which was excellent)?

[Microsoft]
Microsoft will be holding its press conference on June 13 and 14, 2010 before the start of the actual E3 event. It will be divided into two parts with the first part concentrating on Project Natal to be held on June 13, 2010 and the Xbox 360 Media Briefing to be held on June 14, 2010.

[Nintendo]
Nintendo has confirmed that their press conference will take place on June 15, 2010. It has also been confirmed that Nintendo will showcase their newly announced Nintendo 3DS, a handheld gaming console that is the successor to its current Nintendo DS series of handhelds. Nintendo has confirmed that the Nintendo 3DS will be playable. In addition, Nintendo plans to showcase software for the Wii Vitality Sensor, as well as the latest game in the Legend of Zelda series, which will be compatible with Wii MotionPlus.Nintendo also hopes to have Pikmin 3 on display at their press conference, but there has yet to be confirmation.

[Sony]
Sony will be holding its press conference on June 15, 2010. Sony plans to further showcase the PlayStation Move and its compatible games as well as announce the worldwide release of firmware for the PS3 to fully support 3D gaming and movies. President of Sony Computer Entertainment, Jack Tretton, has said that they "will absolutely bring the heat, there's a lot to talk about".

E3 Layout:

E3 2010 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the show occupying the South and West Halls as well as the first floor.

[West Hall]
Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo will have booths which are directly opposite of each other. Other notable developers and publishers located on this floor are Atlus, Atari, Bethesda, Sony Online Entertainment and Capcom.

[South Hall]
The hall has three types of booths: large, medium and small. The large booths are occupied by Square Enix, MTV Games, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Disney Interactive Studios and Electronic Arts. The medium booths are occupied by Sega, Konami, THQ, Warner Bros. Interactive and Take-Two Interactive. The small booths are occupied by Namco Bandai and Tecmo Koei.

What is E3?
E3 is an annual videogame tradeshow that, in its current incarnation, is attended by developers, publishers, media, retailers, distributors and other groups tied to the industry. The purpose of the show is to connect all those groups and share information about what games will be available over the course of the next one or two years. Also, there are a lot of parties.

What does E3 stand for?
Electronic Entertainment Expo. Get it? Because there are three Es…

When is E3?
The show is always held in the summer, but the exact dates change from year to year. E3 2010 will take place from June 15-17 (Tuesday – Thursday), but unofficial E3 activities can begin as early as the Sunday beforehand and can stretch into the following weekend. Additionally, publishers such as Electronic Arts hold annual "Pre-E3" events for media in the weeks leading up to the show. It's a chance for us to spend quality time with games away from the crush of the convention crowd.

Where is E3 held?
Traditionally, E3 is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown L.A. It's done brief stints in Atlanta, Ga., and Santa Monica, Calif., but this will be the show's third straight year back at its ancestral L.A. home. But while the LACC is home to the show itself, the big publishers usually hold their press conferences at nearby venues. Sony's E3 2010 press conference, for example, will be held at the Shrine Auditorium. Fun fact: the Shrine was where Michael Jackson was filming a Pepsi commercial when his hair caught on fire on 1984.Where is E3 held?
Traditionally, E3 is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown L.A. It's done brief stints in Atlanta, Ga., and Santa Monica, Calif., but this will be the show's third straight year back at its ancestral L.A. home. But while the LACC is home to the show itself, the big publishers usually hold their press conferences at nearby venues. Sony's E3 2010 press conference, for example, will be held at the Shrine Auditorium. Fun fact: the Shrine was where Michael Jackson was filming a Pepsi commercial when his hair caught on fire on 1984.

Who goes to E3?
The event used to be more of a free-for-all, and it's also seen periods of tight restriction. The current format is industry-only, but the list is less exclusive that it has been in the recent past. Tens of thousands of people will attend E3 this year, and only about 50 of them will wear deodorant.

Can I go to E3?
If you're connected to the videogame industry, chances are good. If not, then it's probably not gonna happen. And no, you can't get a ride with us. Our car is full. For more information about who's eligible to attend the show, check out the official E3 site.

I can sneak in, right? How hard can it be?
Used to be a lot easier. Don't waste a trip. The badge checkers don't mess around.

Is that naked guy going to be there again?
How did you even hear about that guy? And yes. We like to imagine that he's always walking around the streets of downtown Los Angeles, just waiting for us to go eat dinner so he can be naked in front of us again. Man, why did you bring that up? Gross.

Who puts E3 together?
E3 is produced by the Entertainment Software Association, a professional organization of videogame publishers. The ESA also runs the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which is responsible for rating games.

How long has it been going on?
The first E3 was held in L.A. in 1995. Before that, new games were shown at the annual Consumer Electronics Show is Las Vegas, Nev. The first E3 is special because it marked Sony's entrance to the videogame market with the PlayStation. The Neo-Geo CD was also there. Only $500!

How are E3 awards determined?
Every year, IGN honors the best games of the show with E3 awards. Editors nominate games they've seen as the show progresses, a list is formed, and then we vote on the best titles in multiple categories. Keep in mind that what we see are unfinished products, and we only see what publishers want us to see. So it's quite possible that games we're blown away by at E3 won't hold up as well a year later. What we're really saying with our E3 awards is, "Your demo blew us away. We can't wait to see more!"

What is the 'show floor' and what goes on there?
The show floor refers to the exhibition halls of the L.A. Convention Center. There are hundreds of thousands of square feet of display space at the show, and publishers like Activision, SEGA, Square Enix, Microsoft and Take-Two pay top dollar to rent it out and display their games. The convention center show floor is packed with flashing lights, giant video screens, and elaborate demo stations. Some of the bigger publishers also have makeshift meeting rooms built into the center of their areas for private meetings.

What happens at 'behind closed doors' meetings?
These are generally by invitation/appointment only, and it's a chance for publishers and developers to show their games to media (and sometimes one another) without the distraction of the show floor. These meetings are often held when a game isn't quite ready for a completely public viewing. Developers and many journalists are more used to seeing games in unfinished states than some other segments of the E3-going population. That's why some developers are more inclined to show early versions of games this way.

What are booth babes, and will they be at E3?
We refer to them as modeling engineers, and they are hired by publishers to stand in front of their "booths," look pretty and sometimes hand out flyers. They're a bit of a holdover from the CES days, and they were actually banned for a spell. They're back, but not in the numbers they once were.

How can I watch the show?
Every year, IGN broadcasts their live from the E3 show floor. It's the best place to see live demos – by the developers themselves – of the hottest games of the show, straight to your computer in streaming video.

The Live Show and all E3 coverage can be found at IGN's E3 2010 destination page.

When will I be able to watch it?
It starts on the afternoon of June 15 and runs through June 17.

When is the press conference for my favorite game company?
As of this writing, here are the confirmed E3 press conference dates and times:

Well this is shocking. Rockstar Games, the makers of "Grand Theft Auto", and the current new release "Red Dead Redemption", are NOT going to appear at E3.

Quote

From Telegraph.co.uk
Rockstar had been expected to show off several high profile games at the expo, including LA Noir, a 1950s thriller, and Max Payne 3, the latest instalment in the gritty franchise. The company's decision to pull out of the expo with less than a fortnight's notice now means game fans are unlikely to get any confirmation about a possible new Grand Theft Auto title rumoured to be in the pipeline.
Rockstar has cited time restrictions for its decision not to appear at E3 this year. The company said that it plans to showcase its forthcoming titles in-house shortly after E3.

I predicted we'd see an Elder Scrolls V announcement this year, and sure enough, it looks like...well, who knows, but the scuttlebutt is we'll hear something about Bethesda's next fantasy epic at this year's E3 game show.

Granted it's mostly speculation steeped in conjecture stirred with spoonfuls of wishful thinking. Japanese games mag Famitsu reportedly claimed several publishing majors like Electronic Arts and Square Enix and Ubisoft have a bunch of surprises up their sleeves for E3 in a few weeks. Famitsu also (reportedly) included Bethesda on the "secret" announcement list. A games blog picked that up, then a games news aggregator that promotes stories based on user clicks (though not verification) ran it up the visibility flagpole, touching off a blizzard of silly comments about how the next game shouldn't be an MMO, how Fallout 3's just Oblivion with guns, and would Bethesda please use more than three voice actors in whatever's next.

I'd wager 10 to 1 odds against an E3 Elder Scrolls, list or no list, since I take Bethesda's Pete Hines at his word when he argues against E3 bombshells. In an interview with Joystiq a few weeks ago, he responded to a question about major E3 announcements with two words: "Probably not." In case that "probably" sounds ambiguous, Hines then drives the nails in with: "I just don't think E3 is a great place to announce anything."

Nitpickers will draw attention to the part slightly later where he says "I wouldn't expect any big announcements from us at E3, although it is only April and it's two months away." And, you know, Oblivion did come out roughly four years ago. I'd wager we'll see an Elder Scrolls announcement sometime this year.